Colm Fitzpatrick
Colm Fitzpatrick explores confusion around Easter recycling
Easter is a time of spiritual reflection and celebration where families come together and, in many cases, indulge in chocolate eggs and all things confectionary. But now that the festivities have wrapped up, what exactly should you do with the chocolate-smudged wrappings?
With so many bins and so many rules, recycling goods can be confusing, often leaving people unsure as to where items should be disposed. Trying to decide what brands of coffee cup need to be recycled is enough alone to keep some people awake! Similarly, with the various materials inside Easter-egg packaging – cardboard, plastic and tin foil – discerning what goes where usually results in defeatedly throwing the whole item into one bin.
Luckily, Ireland is one of the top countries in Europe for recycling plastic according to a Conversio report commissioned by PlasticsEurope in alliance with European Plastics Recycling and Recovery Organisations (EPRO), with a recycling rate of over 40%. However, many more improvements still need to be made, and learning about how to properly dispose of waste is one way this can happen.
Keeping up with international standards, Recycling List Ireland have drawn up a list of the materials you can put in your household recycle bin. The list is part of the Waste Recycling Ambassadors Campaign, which is a VOICE (Voice of Irish Concern for the Environment) initiative, aiming to eliminate confusion over what can and cannot be put into a recycle bin. Recycling Workshops and Talks are being offered across Ireland by the Recycling Ambassadors. These are free and interactive and really help people get their recycling bin sorted.
“People are hugely confused as to which bin to put their recyclables and waste. By going out into communities we can provide helpful hints on how to manage our recycling bins, reduce contamination and preserve the quality of recyclable material directly to the public. We are very excited about this hands-on approach, sending our new team of waste ambassadors into communities to tackle waste in a real way,” says Mindy O’Brien, VOICE Coordinator.
“VOICE has long pushed for this type of initiative to provide a public forum to inform how to reduce contamination of recycling. We will also be able to identify barriers households face when managing their waste. We will use the information gathered from this programme to better direct the government on how to make recycling easier for householders.”
The list is broken up into three sections: paper and cardboard, rigid plastic and tins/cans, including what popular items fall into each category. Egg boxes and newspapers, drink and food cans, plastic drink bottles and shampoo bottles are some of the most popular products that need to be recycled.
The list also details items which are usually perceived as recyclable but in fact are not. For example, because a coffee cup is made from paper but has a plastic lining that is difficult to remove, they must be disposed of in the black bin. Similarly, food – including chocolate – can be difficult to clean off used foil and trays so it’s also best to also put them in the black bin.
The most important aspect of recycling is making sure that all items are clean and dry. If items once contained food or liquid they must be rinsed clean and given a shake to remove the water before going into the recycle bin. Food and liquid can contaminate the materials in the recycling bin which is why food stained paper, such as dirty pizza boxes, should go in the general waste or compost bin.
Items should also be placed loosely in the bin because if you have placed items inside one another, the recycling machines will not be able to sort them and unwanted items such as food or nappies can enter the system while precious resources are lost.
Glass does not go in the household recycling bin and should be placed in glass/bottle banks as the separate collection of glass produces the highest quality recycled glass. However, not all glassware can be put in glass banks such as cookware, Pyrex, plates, cups and ceramics as they have a different melting point to traditional glass.
With regards to Easter egg packaging specifically, it is advised that the rigid plastic and cardboard be placed in the recycling bin and the soft plastic and foil be put in the general waste bin.
According to Sr Marian O’Sullivan OP who works with the Centre for Ecology and Spirituality in Wicklow, the majority of the almost 300 million tonnes of plastic that is produced every year ends up in oceans, is killing fish, and is getting into the food chain of humans.
“This Easter we in Ireland will spend millions of euros on Easter eggs. Most of them are wrapped and re-wrapped in plastic and other non-recyclable material. Where does all that indestructible material end up? In land-fill or in the seas. Our little island cannot contain all this waste. Nor than the planet cope with it. We have only one planet and it cannot sustain the lifestyle that we in Ireland think it is our right to continue living”, she says.
Sr Marian adds that Easter should not be thought of in isolation but is part of the much greater Paschal Mystery which includes the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
“The whole life of Jesus reveals God’s love and care for the whole of creation which includes humans. When Jesus took on human life he took it on in all its dimensions which includes being of the earth,” she explains.
Living beings
“Jesus and all human beings are made of the same stuff as the Earth and are intimately connected to all living beings and to the Earth itself. That is why the wellbeing of humanity is totally dependent on the wellbeing of the planet. You can’t have healthy humans on a sick planet,” she says.
Over the last 10 years we have produced more plastic than during the whole of the last century and it takes 500-1,000 years for plastic to degrade. Although our current ecological crisis seems hopeless, Sr Marian believes that as a community of people we can radically change our behaviour and so make concrete transformation in the world. This firstly requires an understanding and realisation of how our actions affect the environment.
“Why are people apathetic about recycling? I don’t think people realise the gravity of our situation. Parents give Easter eggs to their children because they love them and want them to fell loved and to enjoy their lives. These parents don’t realise that the burden of what we are doing today will fall on these children in the very near future. We are already experiencing effects of climate change in Ireland,” she says, noting that many cities are flooding and that other parts of the world are experiencing even worse climate effects such as drought, hurricanes and other natural disasters.
“We need an urgent education campaign by the churches, the media, schools, universities to bring about change before it is too late. Many years ago, Thomas Berry said ‘unless we go into the 21st Century as one sacred community we will all perish.’ By one sacred community he meant humans and all living beings. We all belong together.”
For more information about Recycling List Ireland, see: http://recyclinglistireland.ie/